He also said he wanted to return to a small British team similar to that he enjoyed at iSport in 2006 to 2007, which culminated in his GP2 championship victory.

Coming after Toyota’s decision to quit F1 it was especially telling that Glock praised Manor as “a real racing team run by true racers.”

The move to a new team for a driver entering his third full season of F1 will inevitably be seen as something of a gamble. But it gives him the opportunity to push the team in his direct particularly if, as some believe, Manor choose to partner him with a rookie. Glock’s former GP2 driver Lucas di Grassi has been tipped for the seat.

The team are also believed to be on the verge of renaming itself as Virgin F1.

With no disrespect to Glock, I think this is probably the best option on the table. He could have signed for Renault, but they may pull out in December or by the end of next season. He probably had discussions with Mclaren and Mercedes/Brawn, which will have been a one year deal at best. Qadback might have been an possibility, although they may not even get on the grid.

With Williams and Ferrari locked out, that left Force India, USF1, Manor, Lotus and Campos.

USF1 would have been a longshot, and Campos are a little limited on their funds. Lotus probably wouldnt have happened anyway, I reckon Trulli has been signed already, and they would want a cheap driver to partner him.

That said, Glock has made an excellent decision, and one which I think is commiting him to Manor until he retires. Hopefully he’ll help build the team up to a midfield team while he’s there, and score some points next season. I wouldnt expect much, but cracking into double figures would be an excellent achievement

I had to think about it for a bit, but now I totally agree, that this is a good deal for both parties. Glock is one of those drivers who knows how to get the most out of mediocre equipment, and that is going to prove very useful for a brand new team that will probably take some time to get up to speed. In return, he’s being rewarded with a team that will develop around him, and hopefully carry him through the rest of his career.

I think something’s not quite right here. It reminds me of him, Trulli and Williams all deserting Toyota a few months ago- it would appear now they knew Toyota were about to quit.

I suspect Glock might have heard similar whispers from Renault recently which gave him second thoughts- it was only a few days ago that everybody was convinced he already had a contract there for 2010. They may have been struggling lately, but I’m sure they’d be quicker than Manor for a long time yet.

Basically, I can’t understand why he would choose Manor over Renault- unless, of course, he knew Renault were about to quit F1…

I think he’s uncomfortable with Renaults future. Even if they decide they do want to continue with F1 next year, Glock can’t afford to wait that long just in case they decide “okay we have to pull out” and then he will be left without a seat. It’s one thing being left without a seat in July like with BMW or now like with Toyota, but if he signed with Renault and they decide in December to withdraw like Honda did, then he’d be left with no seat at all like Button and Barrichello nearly experienced last year.

I’ve read (don’t ask me where, but if I remember I’ll post a link) that Kubica’s contract is only for a year, so I’m thinking Renault will be on the grid next season, but it’ll be their last as a team. Maybe they’ll stay on as engine suppliers after that, I don’t know.

While Williams, Trulli and Glock may have suspected Toyota were quitting, I am not sure they knew for certain.

When Williams announced their Cosworth deal they commented that they liked their independence and the fact that Toyota chose one of Williams’ drivers would probably have been a factor, especially when you compare the performance of Rosberg and Nakajima this season.

As for Trulli and Glock, when it was announced that Toyota’s F1 budget would not be signed off till (I think) November, I remember someone high up from Toyota F1 saying that he thought the drivers should look around for drives for 2010 as he didn’t know what Toyota could offer them until the budget was decided, nothing as it turns out.

With Renault, if Glock has been told something then Kubica defiantly would have as well, I don’t know if he has been looking for another seat, but I think a likely scenario is that he doesn’t want to wait around for Renault to make a decision on its F1 team as by then there may not be any seats left, and his position in negotiations with teams would be weaker.

To me Glock is a very good driver, i would say he is just behind the league of hamilton, vettel, alonso. He is also very good at overtaking and his race pace is very impressive. Good luck Glock. He is much better than heidfelds and trullis and it’s shocking all the German drivers have been linked(rumoured) with top teams except Glock.

On the face of it it would seem an odd choice but considering his reasons it seems fair enough. I wonder if he tried to get a driver with Williams or Force India, they would seem a better choice yet they would still fit his requirements.

I guess he wasn’t in the frame for a Mercedes drive, which is a shame, I think he’s got potential. But I do think what he said about iSport is significant – I think he just likes that kind of team setup.

..bit like a movie star doing the big-bucks blockbusters, just to get money, and fame, then doing what they really want, in smaller productions.. Timo Glock is a good racer, and his neat trick of having a good race, as opposed to road-block-Trulli, shows that he thinks it through even when Toyota did’nt..must admit I like the idea of underdog teams, it made the short-lived Brawn team very appealing.

If Glock had a definite offer from Renault ,and most importantly the future of Renault F1 was secure then he probably would have chosen Renault over Manor. But as no decision is due to be made about Renault soon, Glock ran the risk of waiting too long and ending up without a drive for next season.

Of the potential seats available to him, he obviously thought that Manor was the best long term option.

Poor Timo! I feel sorry for him. I can’t help but think he’s been dealt a rather bad hand of cards and is trying to make the most of a bad situation.

Personally I think McLaren (or Brawn oops Mercedes Grand Prix, or even Renault) should have signed him up rather than Button. I do however hope Timo will be able to make good headway at Manor and perhaps something more promising will come along…

Don’t forget Nick Worth designed the Acura for American Le Mans Series with CFD and that went like a rocketship. Don’t be so quick to scoff at the idea as the Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 car was designed entirely with CFD and no wind tunnel work. With resource restriction agreements don’t be surprised if this is where F1 goes in future. I wish Timo well I think he could be a really gr8 driver if given the opportunity. Hope Manor get the financial backing they need to capitalise on the the potential.